Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2011)489 - European Year of Citizens (2013) - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2011)489 - European Year of Citizens (2013). |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2011)489  |
| date | 11-08-2011 |
· General Context
Union citizenship, provided for in Article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), is conferred automatically upon all Member States' nationals and grants them an additional set of rights, which include the right to move and reside freely within the territory of other Member States than the one of which they are nationals.
The right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, enshrined in Article 21 TFEU and in Article 45 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, is one of the most highly valued individual rights granted by EU law. Freedom of movement is virtually synonymous with Union citizenship[1], constituting the most tangible expression of the benefits related to Union citizenship.
More broadly, the exercise of the right to free movement contributes to giving concrete significance to Union citizenship in the daily life of citizens: those citizens who extend aspects of their lives beyond national borders by travelling to other Member States or settling there are compelled to find out about and take advantage of the broad range of rights granted under EU law in cross-border situations: their rights as consumers in other Member States, their rights to have access to education, to obtain recognition of their professional qualifications, to access healthcare and acquire or preserve social security rights.
The rights granted to Union citizens to vote and to stand as candidates in elections to the European Parliament and in municipal elections in their Member State of residence are of primary importance in this context, since they provide Union citizens with the means to participate in the democratic life of the Union, whilst at the same time contributing to their integration into the society of the Member States of residence.
Moreover, in a broader context, Union citizenship is closely related to the democratic principles of the European Union[2] which set the framework for the participation of citizens in the democratic life in the Union.
· Grounds for and objectives of the proposal
In 2009, an estimated 11.9 million Union citizens were living in another Member State than their own and many more might exercise this right at some point in their lives: a Eurobarometer survey conducted in 2009[3] showed that more than one third (35%) of European citizens would consider working in another Member State. However, as demonstrated by the same survey, close to one in five Europeans see too many obstacles to working in another Member State. Another 2009 study i found that lack of information is (together with language difficulties) the most important barrier to cross-border commuting, which constitutes, besides trans-national migration, the main form of geographic labour mobility within the EU.
These findings were confirmed by a 2010 survey investigating the experiences of European citizens having actually exercised their right to free movement[5]. Discussing possible ways to make intra-EU mobility easier, respondents stressed the need for Union citizens to dispose of practical, country-specific information on their rights when residing in other Member States than their own. This survey also showed that the information citizens need in order to exercise their right to free movement is not strictly limited to the conditions for using this right as such: amongst the administrative issues which people had looked at prior to moving to another Member State, the two items mentioned most often were social security and welfare and the recognition of academic diplomas.
It is clear that citizens who wish to study, work, retire, live in another Member State need to be adequately informed about the different rights available to them in cross-border situations and to be able to effectively enjoy them in practice. Without this knowledge citizens are not able to make informed decisions about making use of their free movement rights.
More broadly, citizens' awareness of their rights to free movement and more generally of their rights as Union citizens is crucial to enable individuals, businesses and society as a whole to benefit from the full range of opportunities available in the single market.
The significant gaps in citizens' awareness of their rights were demonstrated by a 2010 Eurobarometer survey[6] which showed that, although Europeans are broadly aware of their status as Union citizens (79% claim some familiarity with the term citizen of the European Union), they lack concrete knowledge about the exact meaning of rights attached to this status. More specifically, only 43% know the meaning of the term citizen of the European Union and almost half of European citizens (48%) indicate that they are ‘not well informed’ about their rights.
In the EU Citizenship Report 2010 "Dismantling the obstacles to EU citizens' rights"[7], the Commission identified main obstacles which citizens still encounter in their daily lives when they seek to exercise their rights as Union citizens and outlined 25 concrete actions to remove these obstacles. In the context of this exercise, the Commission concluded that Union citizens are prevented from enjoying their rights because they lack awareness of them and announced its intention to step up the dissemination of information to Union citizens about their rights as such and in particular about their free movement rights. The designation of 2013 as the European Year of Citizens, leading to the organisation of targeted events on EU citizenship and citizen-related EU policies during this year, is thus listed in the EU Citizenship Report 2010 as one of the actions to implement in order to remedy this lack of awareness.
The overall purpose of the proposed European Year of Citizens is to ensure that all Union citizens are aware of the rights available to them in a cross-border context by virtue of their Union citizenship status, so as to enable them to make informed decisions about whether to make use of their right to free movement and to facilitate the effective exercise of this right. The European Year will aim, more specifically, at:
– raising Union citizens' awareness of their right to move and reside freely within the European Union and more generally the rights guaranteed to Union citizens in cross-border situations, including their right to participate in the democratic life of the Union;
– raising Union citizens' awareness of how they can tangibly benefit from EU rights and policies while living in another Member State, and at stimulating their active participation in civic fora on Union policies and issues;
– stimulating a debate about the impact and potential of the right to free movement, as an inalienable aspect of Union citizenship, in particular in terms of strengthening societal cohesion and mutual understanding between Union citizens and the bond between citizens and the Union.
· Consistency with other policies and objectives of the Union
The proposed European Year of Citizens draws upon the existing strong link and positive association in citizens' minds between the right to free movement and Union citizenship with a view to giving Union Citizenship concrete significance. It thus gives effect to the Commission's political objective to put citizens at the heart of the EU policy agenda and to help Union citizenship become a tangible reality in their daily lives.
The proposed European Year delivers on the commitment made by the European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, in his 3 September 2009 political guidelines for the new Commission, to reinforce EU citizenship by revitalising the link between citizens and the EU and by giving real effect to their rights.
It also delivers on the call of the European Parliament's resolution of 15 December 2010 on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union (2009) – effective implementation after the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon. In this resolution the European Parliament calls upon the Commission to make 2013 the European Year of Citizenship in order to give momentum to the debate on European citizenship and inform Union citizens of their rights, in particular the new rights resulting from the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon.
Consequently, the plan for the European Year of Citizens 2013 was presented on 18 January 2011 to the Interinstitutional Group on Information.
In this vein, the proposed European Year is also in line with the Stockholm Programme[8], which puts the citizen at the heart of European policies in the field of freedom, security and justice and focuses its actions on ‘building a citizen’s Europe’, including by ensuring the full exercise of the citizens' right to free movement.
The objective of the proposed European Year is further consistent with the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy, to the extent that facilitating free movement and workers' mobility has been acknowledged in the 'Youth on the Move' and the 'Agenda for new skills and jobs' flagship initiatives[9] as well as the 2006 "European Year of Workers' Mobility" and the ensuing 'European Job Mobility Action Plan'[10] as a way of addressing the consequences of demographic change on the labour market and increasing the employability of people and the competitiveness of European economies.
More generally, free movement either enables, as a necessary prerequisite, or stimulates the cross-border exercise by citizens of a broad range of EU rights, such as their social security rights, their right to look for a job and work, their rights as passengers or tourists or their rights as consumers to access goods and services in other Member States. Facilitating free movement can therefore contribute, inter alia, to the objectives pursued by the recent Commission initiative for the relaunch of the single market[11], as it can encourage citizens to fully benefit from opportunities offered by the single market. In addition, the European Year would also directly boost awareness about these opportunities and rights as such, as it would aim to provide citizens with information about all relevant rights available to them in cross-border situations.
Moreover, the proposed European Year would both build on the EU Citizenship Report 2010 and significantly contribute to the realisation of the objectives pursued by this report, namely to remove persisting obstacles to the effective enjoyment of Union citizens' rights.
Based on evidence of the main problems citizens are confronted with when they seek to exercise their rights as Union citizens in particular in cross-border situations, this report identified not only the obstacles persisting in relation to free movement itself but also a number of issues of direct interest for citizens who consider exercising their right to free movement, where the EU needs to step up its efforts to disseminate information and remove remaining obstacles within the limits of its competencies. Such issues include property rights of international couples, the cross-border recognition of civil status documents, the protection of suspected and accused persons in criminal proceedings, taxation problems in cross-border situations, cross-border health care and eHealth technology issues, passenger and tourist rights, consumer rights, the recognition of academic diplomas and professional qualifications, social security issues, the exercise of electoral rights and awareness of the meaning of Union citizenship.
The European Year of Citizens can therefore draw extensively on the findings of the EU Citizenship Report 2010 so as to better focus its aims and actions on the most relevant issues with a view to facilitating free movement of Union citizens.
At the same time, the European Year can support the process launched by the Commission for the further identification of obstacles and solutions for their elimination, within the limits of the European Union's competencies, and provide the framework for the publication in 2013 of an action plan toward completing the removal of persistent obstacles standing in the way of citizens' enjoyment of their rights as Union citizens, as announced in the EU Citizenship Report 2010. By contributing to this exercise, aimed at ensuring that Union citizens are effectively able to use their rights under EU law, the European Year of Citizens can contribute to fulfilling the objective of Article 20(2) TFEU, according to which Union citizens 'shall enjoy' their rights under the Treaties, including their right to free movement.
A European Year of Citizens in 2013 will also provide a very timely opportunity to give visibility to Union citizenship and its concrete benefits for individuals, as that year will mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Union citizenship by the Treaty of Maastricht. Furthermore, by demonstrating the concrete impact of Union policies in citizens' lives, the European Year will highlight the importance of citizens' contribution in giving tangible effect to their rights and more generally in shaping the European project. Combined with awareness raising on citizens' electoral rights in their Member State of residence, this will also be crucial in view of the European Parliament elections in 2014. The impact of such awareness raising actions would be multiplied through close coordination and synergies with relevant actions implemented by other EU institutions, notably the European Parliament, and by Member States in the run up to these elections.
Contents
· Consultation of interested parties
In the context of the public consultation carried out by the Commission on "EU citizens rights – the way forward", which was concluded on 15 June 2010, and the conference on this theme that took place on 1 and 2 July 2010, civil society organisations strongly supported the idea of focusing EU policies on the meaning of Union citizenship and on the rights attached to it and on ways for Union citizenship to acquire real significance in peoples' lives. Key civil society stakeholders have further expressed strong support for awareness raising actions aimed at bridging the gap between legal rules guaranteeing free movement of Union citizens and the obstacles citizens are confronted with in reality.
The Commission also presented the plan of a European Year of Citizens on 15 December 2010 in the framework of its regular dialogue with civil society. In this context, it received positive feedback regarding in particular actions focusing on certain aspects of the exercise of rights attached to Union citizenship, such as encouraging citizens' societal engagement and active involvement in giving effect to participative democracy.
· Collection and use of expertise
Relevant data were collected through a number of recent Eurobarometer surveys and studies referred to above, in the section 'Grounds and objectives of the proposal'.
· Impact assessment
An ex-ante evaluation was carried out.[12]
· Summary of the proposed action
The European Year is aimed at raising awareness among multipliers and the general public on Union citizens' rights, with a view to facilitating the exercise of the right to free movement and residence.
To this end, it will raise Union citizens' awareness of their right to free movement and more generally the rights guaranteed to them in cross-border situations, including their right to participate in the democratic life of the Union.
In addition, it will raise Union citizens' awareness on how they can benefit from EU rights and policies when extending their lives beyond national borders, including by stimulating their participation in civic fora on Union policies and issues.
Moreover, the European Year will seek to launch a debate about the impact and potential of the right to free movement, as an inalienable aspect of Union citizenship, in particular in terms of strengthening societal cohesion and mutual understanding between Union citizens and the bond between citizens and the Union.
· Legal basis
Article 20(2) TFEU provides that citizens of the Union shall enjoy the rights and be subject to the duties provided for in the Treaties, and that they shall have, inter alia, the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States.
The right of Union citizens to free movement and residence is further enshrined in Article 21(1) of the Treaty, which reads as follows:
"Every citizen of the Union shall have the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, subject to the limitations and conditions laid down in the Treaties and by the measures adopted to give them effect".
The main purpose of the proposal for a Decision on the European Year of Citizens is to facilitate the exercise by Union citizens of their right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States by enhancing their awareness about their rights as Union citizens. Its objective falls therefore within the ambit of Article 21(1) of the Treaty. At the same time, the proposal can be instrumental in giving effect to the objective of Article 20(2) TFEU, which prescribes that Union citizens 'shall enjoy' their rights under the Treaties, including their right to free movement.
This proposal consequently finds its legal basis in Article 21(2) TFEU, which provides that, if action by the Union should prove necessary to attain this objective and the Treaties have not provided the necessary powers, the European Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, may adopt provisions with a view to facilitating the exercise of the rights referred to in paragraph 1.
· Subsidiarity principle
The main issue which the proposed European Year seeks to address is Union citizens' lack of adequate awareness and concrete knowledge about their right to free movement and residence as well as other rights they are entitled to as Union citizens, in particular in cross-border situations. The lack of visibility of Union citizenship and its concrete benefits for individuals, which lies at the heart of this issue, is of a transnational nature. Although Member States retain the primary responsibility for raising citizens' awareness of their rights as Union citizens, adequate actions to address this problem require multilateral partnerships, transnational exchanges of information and experience and Union-wide awareness-raising and dissemination of good practices. Therefore, the objectives of the proposed European Year can be better achieved at Union level.
· Proportionality principle
As indicated in the ex-ante evaluation which accompanies this proposal[13], the actions to be implemented in the proposed European Year do not go beyond what is necessary to achieve its objectives. The proposal respects therefore the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article 5 TEU.
· Impact on fundamental rights
The right of Union citizens to free movement and residence is enshrined in Article 45 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU. To the extent that it aims at facilitating the exercise of this right, the proposed European Year will have a significant positive impact in terms of enhancing the effective implementation of the Charter.
No additional funding is sought for the European Year. The flexibility for annual priority-setting based on the budget lines and programmes of the Directorate General for Communication provides sufficient financial margin for running the Year on a EUR 1 million scale.